A message for all road users

Last week I was fortunate enough to connect with John Maher (@the_inspirational_john_maher_) through Instagram. For those of you who don’t know John, you will be pleased to know that he has dedicated the last 18 years sharing his story about family, love loss and hope.

Nominated for Australian of the Year in 2015 and 2016, John’s mission is to save lives. He does this through inspirational talks about road safety delivered to secondary schools and in the corporate arena. His inspirational talks have reached thousands of people around the globe. Visit www.facebook.com/carmenroadsafety

John’s passion for road safety stems from two life changing road accidents. John’s life was turned upside down when he personally sustained serious injuries in a car accident through no fault of his own. Then, just two years later he lost his beloved daughter, Carmen in a horrific crash involving driver fatigue.

John saves lives by talking about road safety

Unfortunately, there are plenty circumstances we can find ourselves due to events beyond our control. There are however times where we may have the opportunity to stop and think about consequences before we may end up in a situation where we may be compromising our own safety and the safety of others on the road.

How we act on our feelings is of crucial importance.

How often have we engaged in some sort of behavior that we have regretted later when experiencing strong emotions? This is because emotions tend to make us less logical and rational which makes it harder to make good decisions.

We can think about the differences between feelings and emotions as appearing on the opposite ends of the same coin. Emotions are the physical responses to situations and generally experienced universally. Feelings on the other hand, are the meanings attached to these emotions and are influenced by an individual’s personal experience, beliefs and memories. A feeling is the mental portrayal of what is going on in your body when you are experiencing emotions.

Before we may end up in a situation where we may be compromising our own safety and the safety of others on the road, it may be an idea to take some time to stop and think about what our body is telling us when we are experiencing strong emotions. What is our body telling us when we are starting to feel angry or edgy, or tired because you are on your way home from a late shift, or rushing to pick up the kids? How may an increased awareness of these body clues which can help us to make better decisions before we get behind the wheel?

Developing awareness of our feelings takes time and practice. How we can become more aware of them, when they occur, how powerful they are and what we can do to manage them to help us stay safe on the roads. If there are strategies that we can use that can help us make better decisions, who wouldn’t want that?